King Of Acidic Flames
by HaloKombatCraft
Summary: this is my first and would like feedback (whichever so long as it is helpful to the story) My True name is Endymion, but i go by Darsha. I have lost everything that matters most to me and i am slipping into a darkness; my family is dead, my sister was taken by the swarm, I've too few people to call friend and I'm psionically gifted with fire with someone or something following me
1. Chapter 1

** king of acidic flames**

**CHAPTER1**

**High orbit of the jungle planet Cykthia, edge of the Koprulu sector year September 18, 2504**

The name is Darsha and I'm a ghost with the ability to summon and control fire. I am a 23 year old man and six foot solid tall man of a lean but muscular build with crimson red hair dyed black and cut to military standard and what everyone says piercing frozen blue eyes, unlike my sister who has the green eyes. I never liked to show myself even as a kid so I keep my body and face covered with a deep black hood and cowl-.

I hear someone banging on my door very roughly. "Darsha get up! You got a mission briefing on the bridge and his highness won't be kept waiting!" I sighed and closed my journal (damn therapist gave it to me). I could hear the sarcasm from the marines' words (who else but a resoced asshole to knock on my door) I sighed again and though he was on the other side of the door I felt like I should get rid of this pest, so I did by using my class 8.6 psi ability to cave his skull in. I smiled behind my hood, enjoying how easy it was. _'You must take more care young one_.' I growled, that damned voice again, I thought.

For some reason every time I heard it I calmed down for the voice sounded feminine and full of strength and will and anger. I took a calming breath and began the trek up to the bridge.

** 13 hours later**

After finishing my mission (classified) on the sparsely populated planet with nothing but water and trees and weird turtle like things so big that could crush a hydralisk by just sitting on it I went back to my quarters on the terran battlecruiser STARSHADOW. I was walking down the hall when I sensed my presence needed on the bridge, I sighed. A ghost's job is never done, I thought.

I walked passed my quarters to head to the elevator on the other side of the corridor and pressed the big green button next to it to open the door. With a hiss of air pressure the blast doors opened and I stepped into the spacious cabin of the elevator to be met by another ghost, one named Nova. "Where are you going at this time?"

looking at my watch to see that it was 11:30 p.m. I looked at her, Nova was 5' 6" with a head of blond hair, green eyes, and curves that, with the ghost armor complimenting, made her very beautiful. I knew better than that though because rumor has it she is the third best ghost assassin there is, me being second and Kerrigan being first.

"Where I am going Nova is none of your business." I pressed the button that took me to the bridge. "So don't ask again." She raised her hands in mock defeat. "Fine, don't tell me, I'll find out sooner or later anyway." This is true, but I didn't care. She was a bitch of the dominion, full of control chips and neuro inhibiters, meaning: she could not disobey orders. I on the other hand was free of the oppressive will of the dominion because I made the machines in my head short-circuit while still transmitting the 'good to go'.

Nova and I stood in that elevator until my stop came and the bridge was opened to me and I walked out of there. "Remember," Nova said as the doors closed. "I always find out." I responded to this by using a telekinetic method I called Fire Lash which made a psi cat-of-nine-tails made of fire and energy and smacked her across the chest, hard. With a satisfying 'thunk' the doors shut. The highest ranking man in the bridge looked at me "why do you insist on doing that?" I decided to say nothing. i looked at the caped man, who was in turn staring back out into the void.

I walked to his side. The man looked to his left where I was standing, "seems I never need to use the comms with you." I kept looking out at the sparsely populated jungle planet we were orbiting. "It is because I'm just that good." I looked at the man, still very young, the prince, I thought.

"You still need to practice the keeping your mind hidden; you're as open as the legs of a prostitute on Deadmans port." I chuckled at my horrible metaphor. "What is it you want with me is anyway prince Valerian, my time is precious and I have things to do." Prince Valerian was about 5'9" with blond hair that was tied back and was to his shoulder blades, brown eyes, and decorated with a red cape and donned in ornamental royal armor.

The prince sighed, "always to the point, huh Darsha? Very well, here is your next mission." He handed me a holomessage with a picture of a man called Michael Lorensky and underneath the photo said: wanted for the heavy involvement with the Raynor's' Raiders and the Reapers Riders. I liked the Raiders and Jim was one of a few to call a friend and ally for reasons I will not say (Tarsonis). I summoned my ability for fire (only those with psi level 8 or higher can use pyrokinesis and even then it is extremely rare) and I burned it to ashes in front of Valerian. I looked at him and read his mind; he wanted me to track Raynor for a reason to which I don't know, seems I wasn't totally incorrect in my metaphor. "Forget it boy I won't help with this. Besides," I looked at him. "Use your Moebius pets, I won't do it (and besides, I wasn't about to get rid of the growing Reapers' Riders for I created them and they were the second most dominant merc group in the sector)."

I turned on my heel and walked toward the 3 ft. thick neosteel doors and opened them to reveal Nova standing in front of me. I looked her in the eye and said with barely hidden annoyance on the verge of fury, "get.

Out.

Of.

My.

Way."

She didn't budge and that only angered me. She crossed her arms and asked, "if you are against Raynor because of your past so be it, But why won't you destroy the Riders at least?" I looked down at her and answered "because the Riders are simple mercenaries, not worth my attention. Now move."

I spoke with the ferocity of a charging zerg ultralisk. She responded by simply looking at me with a baleful expression. I stood to my full 6 ft. height. "So be it." I brought my psionic power to bear against her which caused me to glow in multiple green colors. Instead of attacking her physically, I attacked her mind with all the frustration I had at the moment and that threw her to the ground. She grabbed her head with agony and screamed.

She started to curl into a ball. I walked over to which she lay, about to burn her for her insolence. Before I could open my inner gate of rage to completely incinerate her I heard multitude of overlapping voices that just repeated 'don't do it' in what sounded like a combination of concern, love, will, and fury, and for some reason that calmed me down. My power responded to my emotion and slowly flickered out. I felt hollow then. I walked to Nova and picked her up by her forearms and plopped her on her feet, looking at her and then Valerian I just said, "Do not call upon me if you know what's good for you." I looked to Nova, "The both of you."

And so I walked down the long corridor to the elevator that would take me to my quarters and my bed. I heard the voice again, _'Not many terrans with that kind of restraint with all that you carry in your heart_.' I looked around to find the voices that spoke to find nobody and this frightened me. "You stopped me from doing a horrible act and I thank you." I frowned and asked the empty hall, "and who the hell are you?"

"My name is Nova you smart ass." I turned to see Nova behind me, "and who were you talking to?" she sounded like what just happened didn't. Silently upset by my actions towards her I turned away. The doors to the elevators opened and I practically warped in there and pressed the close command button, a little too late because Nova was in the elevator with me. I pressed the button labeled "quarters" and stood with my back to the wall and my head hanging low.

"Why won't you bother to look at me Darsha." she said with a little irritation. I looked at her in surprise for she rarely used my name; I looked away again and simply said, "Because I almost killed you." She didn't budge at my comment and just replied "we are ghosts Darsha. We are meant to face the possibility of death and fight with our strength to make sure we survive." We both stood silent on the other side of the elevator until the elevator door opened and revealed a long hallway.

As I stepped out Nova grabbed my arm. I couldn't help but look at her with shock and surprise behin my hod and cowl. She looked me in the eye with an emotion I saw before but could not put a name to and said in a voice filled with another I can't explain and just simply said "I'm sorry." she released my arm. I looked ahead of the hall at the door to my quarters. "Don't be Nova." I walked out of the elevator and to my room. The room was a 11x12x10 (length, width, and height) with a small round window overlooking nothing but stars I had seen last time, a bed of which I barely fit and an attached restroom. At the moment I cared little for a shower and so my feet took me to my bed and I fell with a "plop" onto the thin mattress and fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

**My memory and nightmare of what happened on Tarsonis 4 years ago**

I ran with Sarah Kerrigan as we just stopped the protoss from assisting in the halting of the zerg. The smell of blood and destruction was everywhere; bodies in confederacy combat armor lay strewn everywhere, civilians slain in droves, and my only thought was to keep running with her.

Sarah was in a sweat from the run and suddenly stopped to turn at me. "Darsha Get your cloak on before they see you!" I didn't realize it was off, so I remedied that quickly. Sarah Kerrigan was a ghost of a psi class of 8, stood at five ft. five inches, was wearing a soft white colored ghost tactical armor with blue neon neural lines running down her limbs and based into her neck, she had crimson red hair, piercing green eyes, and was the only family I had left.

"Darsha get your head out of the clouds!" she looked to her left to see a husk of once was a home to somebody. Apparently she saw something in the shadow of the doorway by the look on her face. "Contact left!" she screamed, I looked to where she was looking at and as soon as I did a pack of 20 zerglings came out of the nearest building that lay in ruins with blood smeared on their faces like they had just fed.

Simultaneously Sarah and I lifted our C10 canisters to the pack of the things that looked like great Danes packed with muscle seemingly ready to burst from their skin and scythe-like appendages protruding from their backs falling farther than their angular heads. These were of a brood I didn't care to learn and had a carapace of an almost rust color to them. In that split second of analysis Kerrigan and I opened fire on the nearest ones which tore a bloody hole in the side of two zerglings heads, killing them instantly. We then changed targets and shot four more. Privy to what happened to their friends the 12 that were left saw our outline and charged.

I looked at Sarah and communicated with telepathy, "I got these; you run and call for an evac ASA fucking P!" I dropped my c10 canister rifle after using what ammo i had left to put down three more and then summoned my power of fire. It came as a huge heat wave gathered from the flames still devouring the bodies and buildings all around and concentrated the fire to become a solid weapon of fire in the form of a forty-six inch long (four ft. long) bladed sword which drained me heavily, but left enough so that i could still fight effectively.

hearing that my partner was running in the direction behind me and Knowing that the zerglings were beginning to surround me, I closed my eyes to begin feeling the heat they gave off from using their muscles and felt them ready to leap. When they were finished moving into position around me the one in front of me charged with ferocity of a completely obedient slave ready to die. My eyes snapped open as the zergling jumped at me. I uncloaked and gripped the hilt of my fire blade a little tighter and raised it overhead and then sharply down cutting the ling in half down the middle, splattering me with red-brown gore and burning both halves, consuming it in fire. I looked at a zergling to my left and pointed my blade at it.

"If you think a few zerg pups will kill me," I chuckled. "Think again." I wasn't speaking to the ling, but the being watching from its eyes. As if one force told them to, all the zerglings charged at me. I knew that if I stood my ground I would be swarmed, so I did the exact opposite and ran to my right; straight into the maw of three of the zerglings. They bound at me in a triangular formation only to have the zerglings on the sides split and leave the lead charger alone.

I ran at it with a fury and when it was about to pounce I reverse gripped my fiery blade and buried it into its skull going through it completely and stuck in the ground and bodies and debris. I tried to pull it out but it wouldn't budge. Shit, I thought as the ones that broke off its charge meet their brothers and roared in their victory seeing that their prey was unarmed and pounced as one to end me. "Did you not hear me correctly?"

now pissed because somehow my flame blade was stuck I looked at the now airborne lings. "I said that your zerg pups could never kill me." I held my hand towards the pack and focused my will into my psi power instantly stopping them in mid-jump holding them there for a moment to think of how to end them. through the growing headache I couldn't decide how to end them stylishly and so I through my opened palm down towards the ground and a split second later the zerglings smashed into the debris ridden ground with a bone crushing force, killing them instantly. Now that that was over for now I needed to leave, but first. I looked behind me to still find my sword still stuck in the lings' head and ground, burning both.

exhausted from my power use I just held my hand out and called the blade to me. At first nothing happened, and then the blade started to shake. It shook itself harder to be free of the ground and then suddenly, it pulled itself out and floated a few seconds before coming at me hilt first and rested in my palm. I willed my trusted blade away until the need for it again and cloaked myself.

'Jeez', I thought, 'how did it get stuck like that?' I just shrugged. I started to run towards the direction I last saw Sarah running while praying that she was okay. I walked up a mountain of rubble to see that she was fired upon by a hydralisk that broke through a wall in front of her, the hydralisk was about seven feet in height with the lower half of its body in the form of a snake and the top half looks like a demon, from its triangular head to its glowing red eyes a mile or two away.

I swore vehemently under my breath, she was always a very fast runner but now she overdid it. Hydralisks moved by slithering and by using its scythe like arms to propel them forward. They were deadly up close but they were even more deadly from a distance because they could shoot poisonous spines from a crevice in their chest and they were as long as my forearms. I began to run to help Sarah but she sensed me and shot at the hydralisk at the same time shooting off piece if its lower split jaw and the force of its wound made it spin left to show muscle below its carapace. She wasted no time and put a c10 canister round in it, killing the demon spawn.

"Darsha," Sarah telepathically spoke to me, she sounded resigned. "I don't think that we are going to get that evac." She sounded sad and worried as well. While on the ledge on my stomach I looked down to see her pulling her visor over her face to see what was around her; she was surrounded on all sides by zerg. I spoke back to her with telepathy, "don't move Sarah I'll be right there." I sounded very scared and anxious.

"No, you won't." She simply replied as she removed her eye visor and she suddenly attacked my mind and paralyzed me where I was, one mile away from her position. She dropped her c10 rifle and looked upward to the skies, to see the fleet moving out of orbit, even from where I was I could feel her hatred and realization of Mengks' betrayal. Her head held high and the swarm within forty feet of her, her last thoughts to me while the last nukes were dropped all around us were: "do not think this your fault, dear beloved brother."

She closed her eyes and when the swarm got within 10 feet of her they paused for a moment and then engulfed her in a tornado of flesh and blade and claw.

* * *

**My quarters in the battlecruiser STARSHADOW**

"NOOOOO!" I sat bolt right up and was drenched in sweat, temporarily paralyzed by my own fear. There was a very hard bang on my door and then a crash to reveal a marine in CMC 300 power armor with a dent in the shoulder guard and holding a c14 Gauss rifle scanning the room standing at a good seven feet tall give or take an inch. "What's going on here Darsha?!" I saw that the marine wore an emblem of a dragon on the front of his armor, a rank of Lt. commander, and a phoenix on his visor indicating that it was a friend of mine named Cameron Firewing (don't ask me why he has that last name).

Lowering his rifle and raising his visor up he looked around and turned on the light to see a charred remains of my room. Cameron was a man who had color to his skin giving him the impression he always had a tan, stood at 6ft. 3inches tall man with eyes so brown they looked black, a scar running from his scalp to his left eye, strong chin, and built with muscle upon tightly corded muscle. He whistled and looked to me.

"You really fried it this time man, not even the fire suppression foam worked." I looked around to see that my bare room was scorched black with fire damage and ash. "You have that dream again buddy?" Cameron asked me. I looked at my hands feeling noxious and hating myself for remembering that time so vividly almost four years ago. "Yeah," I replied. "And I know it won't be my last." I felt the tears swelling in my eyes but forced them back because I wouldn't let my friend see me this way. I must be strong, I thought to myself. for those around me and for her. _you are strong, more than you believe yourself to have. _The voice spoke with confidence and surety. Thank you for those kind words, I thought to the voice.

Cameron started snapping his fingers in front of my face. "You alright there partner? you zoned out there." I looked at the man and gave a half grin. "yeah I'm fine, just some after-nightmares." he nodded his head. "understandable from having a past like yours." from anybody else to say that to me I would have paid them a silent visit later but I knew he meant it in as kind a way as he could.

Cameron was the only one I allowed to see my face, nothing wrong with my face or body, I just don't like to being seen or noticed. Regaining my composure I got up from my ashen bed and walked to inspect the damage to the door. "Damn man," I said jokingly. "You're going to have to buy me a new door." I chuckled and heard Cameron do the same and replied; "like hell I would pay for you, man it's the ninth time you roasted your quarters."

I walked to the marine I called a partner and friend, a rarity in my life. I looked at the damage to the shoulder guard on his left shoulder. "Give me your arm for a moment." He obliged with just a grunt and knelt to let me get to the damaged shoulder guard. I held out my palms over the massive dent and willed the metal dent raised and fixed in its proper position. "There you go, give it a test or two." I stepped back to see him grip the shoulder guard and squeeze it, it held. He then began to beat it with his armored fist a few times, satisfied it wouldn't break or dent he got up.

"Come on buddy," he turned to me. "Let's get me out of this thing and then get some lunch." I just shrugged and together we stepped over the remains of my door for his room where a personal armor remover was. Cameron was only seven rooms down the corridor and so the trip was very short. "Hey Cameron," I said without stopping. "What is it my psionically psycho friend?" ignoring that I just asked "Can I use your shower? I toasted mine and the plumbing and will take a while to repair."

He just grinned. "Fine by me, just don't ash mine too okay?" I smiled sincerely, rare for me. "I swear I won't man." I frowned remembering that EVERYTHING in my room was burned to a crisp, "and also a few clothes?" we stopped outside of his room and he looked at me, I was seriously feeling self-conscious because when I had that moment in the room everything that wasn't me burned, meaning, my clothes I was wearing. "Sure man, no problem."

Suddenly I heard someone wolf whistle behind us and turned to see a female medic in armor closely matched to CMC 300 armor with a red cross on each shoulder guard and a built-in combat shield and followed by, "damn Cameron if I had known you had a friend as good looking as him I would of made my move years ago."

I blushed like a freaking beet and looked to my friend, I could hear him trying not to laugh because of my predicament. And suddenly I had a reply to the medic (a mouth-disconnected-from-brain moment) "yeah, well if I knew what you looked like outside of that armor corporal I would've made my move first." Then I gave her a wink and this time she blushed like a beet, lowered her visor and walked off.

At this Cameron burst out laughing and slapped his armored knee. "Man," he said trying to catch his already lost breath he was laughing so hard. "That was the funniest damn thing I have ever seen or heard from you." He guffawed and I blushed anew and opened the door to his room before anybody else saw me in my birthday suit. I quickly ran to the shower in his quarters and got the water flowing. Feeling the hot water rush down me in a soothing way I looked to the events that happened to me after that event with my sister, my little sister.

* * *

**Flashback after the swarm withdrew from Tarsonis**

When the zerg took her and went off world I gained control of my body and screamed. All of my rage and pain roared out of me like a psionic wave, no doubt that I screamed and screamed until I couldn't anymore. It turned out that after three minutes I was coughing blood and I couldn't scream anymore. I cried instead for what felt like hours but was only about six minutes.

When all tears were gone I couldn't help but blame myself horribly even though Sarah said not to. "If only I was faster," I thought. "If only I hadn't taken my time with those zerg I could've saved her." _'You couldn't have saved her if you tried, just share her fate_.' the voice spoke and this time no calm took me but rage; pure, unadulterated rage. "What do you know of my pain!? Huh? Nothing! You know NOTHING!" tears of fire wept from my eyes at every word. (metaphorically)

I said all this with sheer conviction and when I was berating myself to new levels of anguish green fire of every color and shade was burning all around me and eating away at the buildings, the dead bodies of both terran and zerg without prejudice burned away. The voice just replied _'you also know nothing of my true pain, Endymion_.' I paused in my fury and thought I had just heard Endymion, I must've heard wrong, I thought vehemently and sat brooding and soon gave in to despair in that spot for 3 days and four nights, coming to terms with my emotions and pondering what to do next until the Hyperion (now Raynors' Raiders flagship) came into orbit looking for Sarah.

I sensed that Raynor was in that flagship first because when he and my sister met I broke his nose for thinking dirty thoughts towards Sarah and himself, he kept pursuing for her affections and I finally relented from "protecting" Sarah after putting foot-to-ass six to many times, needless to say she whooped mine. I turned on the my built in communicator and spoke into it, "SOS, this is Lt. Commander Kerrigan, can anybody respond." For a moment there was static then I heard his voice; Jim Raynor. "Darsha, Darsha is that you?" "Yeah Jim, it's me." His next question was one that I can't forget; "Darsha is Sarah with you, are you both okay?"

I felt new tears well in my eyes but I forced them back with difficulty. "No Jim, we're not okay." "Why, what happened down there?" I could hear his anxiety and his fear and worry in his voice. My hands started to tighten into fists, "she is gone Jim, taken by the zerg and left by HIM." I couldn't keep the vehemence and acid from my voice when just thinking of him made me want to tear everything apart; by just thinking of the now Emperor Mengsk.

"He left my sister and me here because we weren't the loyal pawns he thought we were." "I swear Darsha," I could hear the resolve and fury in his voice as well. "I swear that we will get her back and KILL Mengsk." I stared at the Hyperion. "Jim, can you get me that evac?"

soberly he replied, "Sure man, no problem." As I was about to turn off my comms he asked "how have you survived the radiation and heat for so long?" despite myself I grinned and felt blood trickle from my harshly cracked and parched lips, "Don't you remember Jim?" I asked "I have the power over fire, radiation gives off immense heat to the point of fire, and so I subconsciously created a barrier between myself and the blast wave and the radiation from the nukes." I sobered at my next thought. "Make no mistake Raynor, I WILL be the one to make sure he suffers to the highest degree of pain, you will have what is left." I turned off the comms before he could reply and set up my beacon so they could find me in the world of Tarsonis now only known as the world of ash and former homeworld of the now dead Confederacy.

* * *

**Flashback ends**

"Darsha you alright in there buddy?" I jumped and looked to the door to hear Cameron's voice. I sighed. "Yes I'm alright, just reliving the past." "Well get out of there, you're using all the hot water." Now that I noticed the thousands of drops of water came to a bad conclusion: I felt ice water run down my back. "Actually Cam, I never turned on the hot water." I could feel his grin from the other side of the door.

"Still, get out of there you have a visitor." I grimaced, probably the repair teams' captain. "Fine, Just give me a minute to get dressed." "Just hurry or I'll take your visitor to lunch." What he could have meant by that, I wonder. I turned off the water and dried myself quickly with my abilities and looked at the sink to see some of his clothes folded neatly.

The shirt was a little too big but it fit snugly, I then put on the cargo pants with the emblem of a phoenix on the left side of the leg winding its way around my leg with the head of crimson fire at my lower thigh and a steel blue shirt that showed a zerg and a marine and under it said; 'I know what you like, here's a bullet with my number I'll put in your skull so you won't forget.' Colorful Cameron, I thought.

I walked to the mirror and flinched, my hair dye washed out and my hair color was crimson red. I sighed and prayed no one would say anything about it. I walked to the door and turned the knob to see the medic from a little while ago sitting on the bed with Cameron talking nonchalantly. She looked at me and I her. She was five ft. 6 inches tall; pale as if she hadn't seen a sun in a few months, strawberry-blond hair that fell freely down to her shoulder blades, slightly high cheekbones, hazel eyes that sparked with life and vitality and stubbornness, was wearing a simple white T-shirt and a pair of loose urban camouflage pants, and she was beautiful. She looked at me and frowned. "Took you long enough," she looked at the shirt I was wearing and smiled and turned to Cameron. "Told you it was a good fit," Cameron just chuckled and walked to the door.

"And where are you going this time Cam?" I asked. He just turned his head slightly to look at me. "This one isn't my battle to take," he turned and opened the door. "Besides," he said. "I was called to the bridge so I'll have to skip on that lunch you owe me." I wouldn't let it go, not this one. "Hey man, I know you had that king up your sleeve for the past four hands."

He just shrugged and walked away leaving the door open. I sighed and looked at the woman. "Sorry about that," I said and I could sense she was trying to not laugh hard despite the poker face she wore. "Hey, I never asked for your name." she got up from the bed and walked over to me hand outstretched. "The names Vanessa Sterling, but my friends call me Nessa." I looked to her standing three feet away from me and said with the most polite and proper manner I could bring forward which wasn't hard (I'm a ghost after all; trained to infiltrate, assassinate, and create disorder in the enemy's ranks). "Well Vanessa Sterling," I reached out my hand and gave it a firm but gentle shake. wow, i thought. this girls got a hell of a grip for being just a medic.

"My name I have chosen is Endymion StormRaider, but my friends call me either Darsha or Andy," I looked down at her. "Now since you're here and we have nothing better to do, how about some lunch?" she looked at me with amusement and shrugged. "Lead the way good sir," she said. "And Endymion," I looked at. "You can call me Nessa."

I smiled a hollow smile. I looked at the door still open from Cameron's quick exit and replied, "Then you can call me Darsha." Secretly I didn't trust her, but that is to be expected when you have a lot of enemies. I've been betrayed enough times to never drop my guard, even from Raynor and Cameron and besides, something wasn't right with her mind; like someone has control-. I paused between the end of my last thought. 'so' i thought. 'she is strong enough now to use it after all.'

"Now," I said to break my train of thought. "How about some freeze-dried shit with a prayer for some cobbler." She laughed, it sounded like the wind through the trees back home; comforting and soothing. "Lead on Andy." And so we walked to the elevator at the end of the corridor and waited for it to reach us from god knows where. Luckily the elevator responded almost immediately and we got into the empty and roomy elevator cabin. Nessa reached over to the console and pressed the button that was labeled Galley which was a few floors above us. "So," she said. "What do you enjoy doing in your off-duty?"

I thought for a moment. "Me? Nothing much, just get someone to repair my now burned to ash room, clean my rifle, have a talk with the eggheads down below, get new clothes and armor that can withstand concentrated assault fire and heat up to four-thousand degrees Fahrenheit, then to top it all off; take a very lovely woman to a piss-poor lunch." I looked at her and could see a wide grin on her face. "I asked what you did off-duty not what you were going to do today."

I smiled at the comment and said back, "that is my off-duty routine, excluding the very lovely woman part, now that is a rare occasion for me." I smiled my very good false smile. a very rare occasion to test how SHE is at stealth against me. The doors opened and saw practically a gauntlet of off-duty marines, marauders, some bat-shit crazy firebats, and a few reapers I saw from time to time all turning to look at me like I was a complete newbie fresh out of boot camp waiting to see who he joined so they would pounce on him, they then turned their gaze at who I had in my arm and all cheered, "hey Vanessa! Hey sit over here and let me buy you a drink" all at the same time (freaked the hell out of me).

I turned to her and gave her an inquisitive stare and she just smiled. "What?" she asked me innocently. "I stabilized a lot of these guys when our medevac got shot down a year ago. Plus, they really don't trust those medevac's anyway." I nodded and found us a clear table to sit at and sat. "You know I heard that there was this one incident about a marine who had his arm cut clean off from a freak machine malfunction and an experimental medevac at the time was stationed there and sowed the guys arm back on backwards."

I mentally shivered and sent a silent prayer to the poor bastard, at least he can scratch his back with little effort to reach now. "Wait here, I'll get some lunch." She nodded her head and gave me a smile. I walked to the galley line and got two trays; one containing pork and beans, the other peach cobbler. I smiled and chuckled. 'the most sought after MRE anywhere.'

and after getting the food after a few minutes I walked back to the table where Ms. Sterling sat. I walked to her right. "Here you are," I set the tray with the cobbler in front of her. "See if you got anything good." I sat to her left and watched her carefully unwrap the foil covering it and when she saw what was in it she squealed, everyone turned at her. I called out loudly, "it's alright she just found a hair in her cobbler." I smiled at the events that unfolded. Almost everyone bolted to see if she really did get the extremely rare and delicious cobbler and when they saw it really was cobbler, they were all making bids to have it from buying a lot of beers, gifts, sex, and some others I don't care to repeat and hope to forget soon.

She ran with the cobbler in her arms out of the mess with a cadre of off-duty soldiers and some techies. I laughed so hard my sides hurt after watching it and after a minute or so I got the hiccups. a little bit later I got enough of my bearings to stop laughing and stop the hiccups with a thought. I opened my yet opened tray to find out it was what I knew it was. Eating peacefully in the now very empty galley aside from one other person sitting a good eight feet away from me seemingly to pretend not to notice the events that just occurred I contemplated what to do next until I heard a lot of groans and turned my head to see all those that went to chase after Vanessa (her cobbler more like it) covered in deep bruises, black eyes, and some favoring a limb or two walking and carting each other to their respective tables and ate what they left behind and I couldn't help but burst out laughing again, gaining some looks that could make an ultralisk think twice about charging these men.

My laughter gradually made its way from full out guffawing, to a laugh, to a chuckle, to at the end a grin. 'Thank god I'm not a telepath,' I thought to myself. I felt Cameron coming down the corridor that led to the galley with Vanessa close behind and scanned the room for most likely me. I waved at him. "So how did you enjoy lunch 'Nessa?" she glared absolute murder at me with the reflection of Cameron's own face. She charged up at me and stopped four feet away from me, I'm still grinning like a raving mad fool.

"You," she said with absolute malice and venom. "You knew that would happen! You knew I would get that peach cobbler and then have these buffoons," she pointed vehemently at those that chased her. "Chase me until I ran into your friend and help me kick the living shit out of them." I shrugged and kept my grin on my face. "I knew you would not be harmed." I stopped grinning and said "I would not have put you into any harm's way just for my amusement, rarely that is what I do, and besides," I grabbed my now empty tray. "I wouldn't be able to do THIS!"

as the last word I said fell from my lips I swung the tray to a space on my left with a great amount of force and struck Nova in the stomach while she was cloaked, bending the metal to near the shape of her stomach. Her cloak fell away and was on her knees clutching where I hit her, winded and surprised at the sudden attack. I threw the tray away to my left and it collided with the wall with a deafening crash. I walked over to her and grabbed a handful of her blond hair and yanked her to meet me eye-to-watering eye.

I smiled like a predator knowing it caught had its prey. "Did you really think," I held my hand out and thumbed away a gathered tear from under her left eye and threw her away from me to fly through the air and land a good seven feet away and slide another three to hit the far side of the wall. "That I wouldn't see what you were doing to Miss Sterling's mind." I tisked her and shook my head. "You should know me better than that, after all I did teach you how to dominate minds my dear."

I decided that that was enough gloating and walked over to her. I felt her psionic abilities starting to rear its proverbial head and prepare to strike with telekinesis. I stopped and prepared for every offensive she could throw at me. After a few more seconds of waiting she grabbed a few trays near her and threw them at me, food still in them. With a force of telekinesis behind them to speed them for a greater (and more painful result).

I moved my right hand forward and caught them with my own power and sent them back at her with greater speed than before and she dodged them all. By the time the trays hit the wall and crushed like soda cans Nova was running at me from my right, using the distraction that only lasted a second to her advantage and suddenly; stopped. I moved my right hand still extended and moved it to where she was and curled the tips of my fingers to my palms gathering some of my psi energy and in a quick motion opened them up, fingers spread and released it, watching as Nova slammed into the wall two feet above the floor, enough to incapacitate her and fall unconscious.

I put my hand down which released the power of telekinesis holding her up and simply fell like a sack of garbage onto the floor. I walked over to the unconscious Nova, ignoring the looks from the crowd, including Cameron and Nessa. 'No,' I thought. 'just Miss Sterling, she was never my friend or ever will be.' I stopped next to Nova and knelt, pressing my ring and index finger lightly against her carotid artery and felt a pulse. 'That's good news,' I thought. 'Although I may have gone a bit overboard,' I sighed. I felt a small amount of guilt, but not much.

I put my arms under Nova and started to pick her up; my right arm coming under her shoulder blades and my left going to behind the kneecaps and carefully lifted her up. Surprisingly it felt like I was carrying a bag full of feathers she was so light. I got to my feet and started to walk out of there. "And where!" A voice almost screamed, most likely Miss Sterling's. "Do the hell you think you are going with her?" I turned my head a bit to look at her so she could see my left eye with one of my most furious looks, my back still to her. "I don't need to think about where I'm going because I KNOW where I'm going." The anger and annoyance, plus the look in my eye made her flinch fiercely and she took a step back.

I looked ahead towards the long, poorly lit corridor. "Miss Sterling you were under the mental control of this ghost in my arms."i turned a bit so she could get a better look at the unconscious woman in my arms. "she had possession of your mind and I got you and everyone else to leave so i could think of a proper punishment." i turned my back to her again and started to the door. "then why-" i stopped pacing to the blast door "why did you not say something?" she asked. "because my dear," I looked at her with a glimmer in my eyes meant to scare anyone who sees them. "it was fun ruining your morning, afternoon, and possibly your evening." i took the gleam out of my eyes and turned them to the shock-faced Lt. Commander.

"these men are your responsibility, move quickly or they will brawl." for the third time I walked to the door and psionically opened it. Its doors parted to reveal a well-lit corridor and made my way to the elevator and then to the infirmary. I walked to the elevator a hundred feet down the hall and to the left when I heard a very small scuff on the metal floor behind me.

I sighed heavily and loudly. While I kept walking I searched for something in the corridor to halt my pursuer and remembered the lights. I focused my power to all of the florescent lights lining the hall and disconnected them from the power source charging and brightening them, leaving nothing but shadow and darkness. I reveled in it, breathed it in like fresh air I hadn't tasted in years and closed my eyes. Using my psionic power once again I used it like bat uses echolocation and became more acutely aware with what was tailing me badly."

I turned my head to hear a mental bass-like voice cursing that would've made a veteran sailor proud and envious. I silently stalked to who it was following me and tapped them on the shoulder. Feeling the anxiousness radiating off the one I tapped and it swung a four-fingered clawed hand at me and caught it at the wrist. "You know?" I said to the being wrapped in surprise it was close to fear. "You suck at sneaking up on people. don't try to hit me again or things will get unpleasant for the both of us." It nodded. I released the wrist bit by bit to make sure I wouldn't try to be hit next time.

I snapped my fingers, dispersing my psionic bonds from the energy supplying the light and blinded the person temporarily. Unbenounced to me I had my eyes shut the whole time. I slowly opened them to let my eyes adjust to the sudden light and when I could look again I saw a protoss. This one was different from the ones I have encountered previously on any past missions for the ones I met and fought had a light yellow color to them, this one had a greenish blue hue to its skin color, this one was about my height. "And what," I asked to the stunned master, or in this case mistress, of psionics. "Do I owe the pleasure of this unwanted intrusion aboard the Starshadow?"


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

The weird colored protoss backed away from me to apparently get a better look at my gleamin' good looks. I chuckled at my own train of thought. "What is so funny terran? Do you mock me for being caught off-guard?" its mental voice commanded an answer from me.

I stopped my chuckling for absolute respect to these beings, turned my face expressionless and just planely spoke. "No warrior, I was not laughing at you nor mocking you in any fashion and apologize for any offense I may have done." '_Well spoken little one_.' the voice spoke (the other voice not the protoss).

'_I try voice in my head_', I thought to it, turning my attention to this protoss I believe to be female. "You are forgiven if you answer my questions for you truthfully and fully." the protoss mental voice spoke at me. Silently surprised I didn't offend it in some way, I nodded my head at its proposal.

"That is fine with me on one condition; you answer my questions for you." I paused. "but-" "But what terran?" The impatience of the protoss' 'voice' was clearly received by my monkey brain. "but," I continued as if the dark blue garbed protoss didn't speak at all. "We cannot talk here for fear of your being discovered by others who would see you as a security risk and shoot-first-ask-questions-later. come with me."

Without seeing if the protoss came with me to the elevator I walked over to it and stopped in front of the still unconscious Nova Terra. I looked down at her feeling conflicted to leave her here as she was and wondering why a psi-class ten ghost such as her even allowed thrown about by a psi-class nine point six like myself, it made no sense at all. _Oh well_, I thought to myself. _No point in staying on this subject when a more pressing matter is needed to be attended to_.

Feeling content for the moment in my decision I walked the rest of the way to elevator doors, looked down and to see the elevator caller, and pressed it. While still continuing to stare at the massive neosteel doors I spoke to the presence I felt strongly five feet behind me. "You may ask a question now if you so choose." I prepared myself for a mental attack just in case this protoss decided to mentally stab me in the back. "What is your name?" she asked. I stiffened slightly and was glad I had a mental barrier up because I was very much caught off guard by such a question. I silently grinned. _How often_, I thought._ Is it to have an alien warrior of great psionic power to ask me my name?_ " Darsha K., but you can call me Darsha." the door opened and the cabin of the elevator opened.

I walked in and turned around to wait for the other to enter. 'Why do we tarry Darsha K.?'I slightly jumped and felt my pulse quicken, shocked at the stealth of this protoss. "did I scare you?" the amusement very clear in her voice. I just pressed the button that would take me to my room. I sighed, _probably still burned to a crisp. _I thought. "what is burned to a crisp?" I swung my body to look at the shimmer next to me. "For the goddess' sake do not do that." I looked back at the door.

_'Goddess?' _both voices asked at the same time. I couldn't keep the frustration out of my body and started feeling crescent-shaped cuts in my palms. "come on, come on damn it." I murmured under my breath. _Ding._ the elevator bell chimed and the doors opened. I took a breath and began to walk out of the elevator when a hand grabbed my shoulder lightly. I turned my head to see the protoss' shimmering hand. I wanted to instinctively break the arm and crush the windpipe of the owner of the hand but remembered my 'guest' and managed to violently flinch and ask; "may I help with something else?" the protoss took her hand off my shoulder.

"just curious; it took twenty of your seconds to get to this level and you didn't ask anything. Why?" I considered the question and the answer is: "I have plenty of questions and I'm very curious myself, but I'm waiting for fear of there being listening devices. they dare not bug me in my room, the repercussions are bad."before I could say anymore the elevator light came on signaling that it was being called...from the galley. "come on." we walked down the winding corridor and made a left to where my room was to see that that the repair teams were working quickly to fix my room. looking ahead and still walking I whispered "Stay here for a moment, I'll be back."

The protoss stopped and I kept going forward. one of the repairmen turned and halted me. "What are you doing here soldier?" the curious man asked. The man was garbed in red fire retardant suit with a standard dark blue safety helmet that covers the whole head and a welding torch. I leaned to the side and looked to my room, then I leaned back and said, "Why good man," I patted him on the shoulder. "I'm going to my room, but it seems that it is being cleaned by room service." the repairman looked at me like I grew another head. "Dude you must me new because this is the quarters of prince Valerian's personal ghost." I pretended to look interested and looked over his shoulder again.

"you gonna spill who it is or am I going to have to ask someone else?" the guy rubbed his chin with a gloved hand and sighed and kept mumbling 'Why me?' "the guys name is Sondyniom or something along those lines, real scary bad-ass that is always cloaked in a black cloak and cowl. You'll know him when you see him." _Oh man_, I thought amusingly. _Now I just _have_ to fuck with this guy even more. _"Was he about six foot nothing with red locks of hair appearing out from beneath his hood from time to time?" The guy nodded. "Is it at times he would be erratic?" the man nodded again. I smiled at this next one. "Then what if I told you I saw him no more than a minute ago?" the man scratched a plate on his helmet with the turned-off torch. "I'd call you lucky he didn't brain-rape you."

I couldn't help but have a hearty laugh. he chuckled nervously. "So what if I told you that he can pinch the nerve in your neck right now and cause large amounts of pain and paralyze you with just a thought?" The hamster in the mans skull was spinning the wheel faster and faster until...the look on the mans face was absolutely priceless and goes as follows; confusion, paled as a ghost, mouth hitting the floor, shock, fear, self berating, and last but not least; he had just said a lot of negative things about the man with the arm on his shoulder. He backed away so quickly that he left my poor hand hanging and turned and ran... right into a man welding a metal plate to the door.

Both men were knocked down and the welder was up in the air doing somersaults and after going about seven feet high it decided to come down, problem was is that it stopped spinning and the flame was still on and was at max focus towards the guy's ( the one who ran) head. I ran the distance between myself and the and the guys laying down on the job and caught the welder. "you know?" I asked the guys on the floor. "Every time I touch fire it doesn't burn me." I demonstrated this by moving the flame over my hand a few times.

"W-w-what are you?" I looked at the man who got run over, fear pouring out of his every pore. "Me? I'm complicated is what I am." I grabbed the wheel that controls the out take of fire and turned it all the way off. By this time I noticed that I had an audience. I turned to them and did a sweeping bow and said in a cheery mood, "Thank you, you have been a wonderful audience." I gave them my I'm-going-to rip-you-a-new-one- look. "Now, leave." they screamed like a swarm of zerg were after them and ran the opposite direction. I couldn't help myself I burst out laughing and started rolling on the floor I was laughing so hard. _Oh man, _I thought, _That was _priceless_ ohmygoddess"_

"Ahem." I heard in my head and looked up to see the protoss crouching over me. "Are you well Darsha K.?" I stifled my laughter into a grin. "That was awesome." I said looking towards the direction those people were still probably running. I sighed and shook my head. "Yeah I'm fine." I got up and put on what I call my 'ghost mask' and pressed the 'open' command to my new door and walked in. "Come on in," I waved my hand at the room. "Make yourself comfortable." the presence moved quietly into my room and shut the door. "So you will begin this game of Q/A."

the dark protoss uncloaked. "very well then What is your last name?" I grabbed a new chair from my new desk, spun it around and looked the being in the eye. "My name is Darsha Fenrir Kerrigan." I watched it very closely from then on because it didn't make a move. I leaned back. "My turn. Are you female?" "Yes I am." I nodded. "It is nice to not have to say 'Protoss' or 'thing' to you all the time it seems insulting," I shrugged, "but that is just me." the female protoss crossed her arms and crossed her legs, all the while staring at me unblinkingly, sizing me up for a possible enemy and kill. " Do you mean me harm Darsha K.?" I shook my head. "Not unless you mean me harm and act on it."

I stared back into those eyes with no pupils with no emotion, on her face or mine. " or, should I, say try to act on it?" She stood up very quickly. "Do not think you can frighten me with your threats or behavior terran!" obviously really pissed. All I did after the psychic shouts was just kept on sitting casually on my chair. I waved my hand in a dismissive way. "It was a warning indicating that I am not a helpless terran who would otherwise be cowed by a pissed off protoss. Sit down and let us continue our game."

obviously she was furious with me but still complied. "Now, you know I am, or was, the brother of the Queen of Blades and yet you did not kill me after I said my last name. What I want to know is why?" _those eyes,_ I thought, _are as cold as the blizzards of Kaldir and twice as merciless._ the protoss sighed and calmed herself. "Because I was ordered to find the kin of the Queen of Blades and give him this." she reached into a pack I had not seen and tensed, prepared to evade and strike and kill.

To my shock and surprise she pulled out an object that was triangular in shape and had a flawless green gem in the center. '_that' _the voice spoke. _'is an Ihan crystal made with multiple purposes but this one seems to be a memory storage. Think of it as a message._ the voice faded. _thank you for informing me voice in my head._ I thought to it. "Darsha Kerrigan." My attention snapped to the one who had the gall to say my last name but remembered that the protoss was still here. I was outraged still and all the while I had my ghost face in place seeming as I didn't feel or care. I breathed in deep and slow, counting to ten, then released my held breath slowly mentally counting to five. feeling better I picked up the Ihan crystal still held out by the protoss and looked at it from all angles. In the light it shined gold and with the embedded emerald it was beautiful.

I got up from my chair and walked to the farthest corner of my room, tapping different places until I heard a hollow _thunk_. I smiled and used my telekinesis to open the secret compartment because there was no indication of a handle or lever to open it and it was quite literally fire-proof. Inside was a private communicator, three thousand credits, and my prized possession and memory of a better time; a picture of me and my sister on our parents lap, smiling and enjoying each others company.

A memory of a better time, one I can barely remember. seeing my sister holding onto our mom smiling, her fiery hair blowing into the wind looking like wisps of fire catching the wind. my mother looking at Sarah with all the love a mother could possibly show. I looked to the other side of the photo with me on fathers lap hanging from his neck like a little monkey with a very large grin on my face, the sun making it look like I was glowing and him smiling in amusement. _What was it like,_ I asked myself, _What was it like to not have to kill, to have someone in your arms who loved and cared for you?_I felt a tear roll down my face and land on my mother and sister in the photo. "Are you well Darsha K.?" the protoss asked behind me and that snapped me back to the much hated present.I gently wiped the tear off the picture and put picture back, added the crystal to the safe, and closed it with a sharp hiss indicating that it was sealed tightly.

I stood up and sat back into the chair. "I would've been better if you had not looked through me and what I was looking at." I sighed and rubbed my temple where a headache was making itself known. "But that is beside the point And you have asked your question-" She held a finger up. "you have not answered my most recent." She put her hand down on her lap. I sighed and kept rubbing my skull. "No I is not well, nothing is ever well with me. I am trying to ruin the reputation of a tyrannical man so that I can kill him more efficiently and not turn him into a martyr." I sighed and rubbed my temple much harder for my headache turned into a migraine.

"I am an unstable single terran fighting a war on multiple fronts; against the emperor, against the queen of blades, against my own insanity. So I would have to say no, everything is not well." She stood up. "I cannot help you with those problems, but I can give you some advice." I chuckled halfheartedly. "Giving me advice when you said you cannot help me is contradictory, but do tell this protoss wisdom of yours please." The protoss shook her head and I swear I heard a sigh. "My advice is this; If you keep waging a war with yourself you won't be able to handle external obstacles later in the future, and there will be a great deal of them." with that she cloaked herself, opened the door and left, the door closing automatically. '_She is correct in every way, you must overcome your problems internally.'_ The voice said. I sighed and began to pace. "I know she is right," I said aloud.

"but I can't fight this all when I very nearly went mad seeing my sister taken from me by the zerg, infested on char later on, and the hatred I feel for the man responsible. I can't kill him outright because it will turn him into a martyr and that is something I wont allow." I stopped pacing and looked at the hollowed section that contained my things. " I am tired of sitting on my hands while he rules, it is time I kick things into overdrive." I opened the vault with my telekinesis and grabbed the round-shaped device. _'once you begin this, there is no going back.' _"You do not want me to? I won't start yet if you wish me not to." _I didn't say that, I just said there will be no turning back.' _she said with humor in her voice.

I looked at the device in my hand and smiled a dark smile. "then it is time I exact my revenge." I pressed a blue button on the side of the holocomms device. After a few seconds' waiting the head and shoulders of a man lit up throwing green illuminations across my room. this man is my right hand, in charge of the Riders while I am away. His name is Corbin Dallas, is a hardy man of 43 yrs., last I saw him stood my height of 6ft. nothing, a scar running vertical along his face and across his nose (got that from me), was an outstanding soldier and leader who held the rank of master chief, was formerly of the UED, aka; the United Earth Directorate, and was never resocialized. The man snapped a quick salute to me. "At ease master chief." the man put his hand down. "sir, permission to ask a question." I mentally chuckled because he stated that he wanted to ask a question. "I did say at ease Mr. Dallas." he nodded his head. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call sir?" I stood looking at the man unblinkingly and after a dramatic pause I spoke; "Get everyone ready. it is time to kick the rebellion into overdrive.

Mr. Dallas smiled a wolfish smile not unlike my own. "Finally, it's payback time for all the destruction he wrought upon humanity."


End file.
